Imprisonment

The basic narrative arc of the book is that of imprisonment and rescue—while the narrative focuses on Cabanatuan Camp because the men there were rescued, the dominant theme of the book is that of imprisonment during a time of war. Many prisoners are described in the book—obviously the prisoners of war in Cabanatuan Camp, Camp O'Donnell, Puerto Princesa Prison Camp, and others are described. But clandestine collaborators such as Clair Phillips eventually are imprisoned, as are other noncombatants such as Abraham's wife and children. In a greater sense, the Filipino people are not much better than prisoners during the Japanese occupation. The psychological, physical, and moral aspects of imprisonment are all investigated in the book through anecdotes, transcripts of letters, and narrative analysis. The result of long imprisonment is perhaps nowhere better illustrated than by the fact that many of the prisoners of war...